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United States Patent |
5,108,315
|
Vogl
,   et al.
|
April 28, 1992
|
Pay telephone station repair technician's adapter
Abstract
An adapter permits a telephone repair technician to attach his data
communications equipment to a C-set or D-set pay telephone station without
alligator clips by a direct connection with the RJ11 connectors of a data
terminal or the like. The adapter can be in the form of a housing having
different corner radii and two jacks, one of which is wired in the C-set
mode and the other of which is wired in the D-set mode, or one jack and a
switch for achieving the C- and D-set modes. The adapter has pins arranged
to plug into a standard 11-pin connector in the telephone station lower
housing.
Inventors:
|
Vogl; Allen W. (Melbourne, FL);
Buron; Douglas J. (Micco, FL)
|
Assignee:
|
International Teleservice Corporation (Melbourne, FL)
|
Appl. No.:
|
688269 |
Filed:
|
April 22, 1991 |
Current U.S. Class: |
439/651; 439/639 |
Intern'l Class: |
H01R 025/00 |
Field of Search: |
439/638-640,651-655,676,344
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
1942063 | Jan., 1934 | Kinnard | 439/483.
|
4362905 | Dec., 1982 | Ismail | 439/639.
|
4648682 | Mar., 1987 | Tubbs | 439/638.
|
4738635 | Apr., 1988 | Harrington et al. | 439/676.
|
4925393 | May., 1990 | Ingalsbe | 439/638.
|
4968260 | Nov., 1990 | Ingalsbe | 439/638.
|
Other References
"Corsets", Miller, Jun. 1968.
|
Primary Examiner: Pirlot; David L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Evenson, Wands Edwards, Lenahan & McKeown
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An adapter for temporarily connecting a repair technician's data
terminal and other data communications or telephone equipment, to a
telephone pay station, comprising a housing configured to be inserted
temporarily inside the pay station, an 11-pin connector for electrically
connecting the housing inside the pay station, and means for connecting at
least one RJ11 connector to the housing in a C-set mode or a D-set mode
and establishing communication between the equipment and a remote location
via the pay station.
2. The adapter according to claim 1, wherein the housing is a multi-part
housing.
3. The adapter according to claim 1, wherein a handle is arranged at the
housing at an end opposite to another and at which the 11-pin connector is
located, the housing has a peripheral configuration comprising two
diametrically opposed corners having a first radius and two diametrically
opposed corners having a second radius larger than the first radius, and
the handle and connecting means being arranged with respect to the corners
such that the handle and connecting means are disposed in a vertical plane
between one of the corners having the first radius and the other of the
corners having the second radius in the temporarily inserted position of
the adapter in the pay station.
4. The adapter according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a handle
adapted to be gripped by a finger of a repair technician.
5. The adapter according to claim 4, wherein the housing is a multi-part
housing.
6. The adapter according to claim 1, wherein the housing includes means for
directing a repair technician to obtain a C-set mode or a D-set mode.
7. The adapter according to claim 6, wherein the housing is a multi-part
housing.
8. The adapter according to claim 7, wherein the housing has a handle
adapted to be gripped by a finger of a repair technician.
9. The adapter according to claim 1, wherein the housing is configured
along its periphery for avoiding obstacles in differently configured pay
stations.
10. The adapter according to claim 9, wherein the housing has a handle at
one end opposite to another end having the housing connecting means.
11. The adapter according to claim 9, wherein the housing peripheral
configuration comprises two diametrically opposed corners having a first
radius and two other diametrically opposed corners having a second radius
larger than the first radius.
12. The adapter according to claim 9, wherein the RJ11 connector connecting
means comprises jacks electrically connected to the housing connecting
means such that one jack provides the C-set mode and another jack provides
the D-set mode.
13. The adapter according to claim 1, wherein the RJ11 connector connecting
means comprises at least one jack operatively associated with the housing
connection means.
14. The adapter according to claim 13, wherein the housing is configured
along its periphery for avoiding obstacles in differently configured pay
stations.
15. The adapter according to claim 1, wherein the RJ11 connector connecting
means comprises a jack arranged on the housing and a switch operatively
connected between the jack and the housing connecting means for
selectively providing the C-set mode and the D-set mode.
16. The adapter according to claim 15, wherein the housing is configured
along its periphery for avoiding obstacles in differently configured pay
stations.
17. The adapter according to claim 1, wherein the RJ11 connector connecting
means comprises a second housing electrically connected to the
first-mentioned housing and having at least one jack.
18. The adapter according to claim 17, wherein a switch is operatively
arranged between a single jack in the second housing and the housing
connecting means for selectively providing the C-set mode and the D-set
mode.
19. The adapter according to claim 16, wherein the housing has a handle at
one end opposite to another end having the housing connecting means.
20. The adapter according to claim 19, wherein the handle has an aperture
sized to be gripped by a repair technician's finger for inserting and
removing the adapter into and out of a pay station.
Description
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an adapter for pay telephone stations and,
more particularly, to an adapter which permits a repair technician's data
terminal or other data communications or telephone equipment to be easily
connected to a C-set or D-set in a simple yet effective manner.
In the past, repair technicians using test sets have had to use alligator
clips to connect to screw or other terminals in telephone pay stations in
order to make electrical connections. Some modern pay station designs do
not permit such connections, however, in an easy manner because of the
absence of terminals or of the terminal types used.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an adapter which will
permit the easy yet effective connection of a repair technician's data
terminal and similar data communications equipment to the pay station.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an adapter
which permits the connection of a test set to a C-set or D-set.
It is a further object of the present invention to configure an adapter so
as to be able to negotiate unique and separate obstacles within the pay
station housing of C and D type telephones.
The foregoing objects have been achieved in accordance with one embodiment
of the present invention by providing an adapter in the form of a housing
having a cross-section defined by different radii and provided with pins
for connection to an 11-pin connector such as a socket in a C-set or a
D-set configuration. The housing is also provided with a handle for
allowing a finger to pass through an aperture in the handle to insert or
remove the adapter into the 11-pin connector in the set. A label on the
housing provides appropriate polarization by indicating to the repair
technician which jack to use for inserting the modular cord/connector plug
for either a C-set or a D-set.
It is an additional object of another embodiment of the present invention
to provide an adaptor unit comprised of a single jack with a C/D
configuration selector.
Yet another object of the present invention is to utilize a two-part
adapter in which an 11-pin connector is attached via an electrical cable
with RJ11 jacks.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention
will become more apparent from the following detailed description of
presently preferred embodiments of the present invention when taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the adapter in accordance with the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the parts of the adapter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an end view of the adapter shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a pay station with the upper housing
removed and the adapter in accordance with the present invention in
position for insertion in the 11-pin connector in the upper housing.
FIG. 5 is an electrical schematic of the adapter shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 6 is an electrical schematic of another embodiment of the adapter in
which a single jack is used with a switch for making C and D connections;
and
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the adapter in
accordance with the present invention in which an 11-pin connector is
connected with a housing having one jack and switch or two jacks.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The adapter in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is
designated in FIG. 1 generally by the numeral 10 and includes a two-part
housing 11, 11', protruding handle 12 with a finger hole 13 so that the
adapter 10 can be easily gripped by one of the technician's fingers and
inserted into and removed from the housing of a pay station in a manner
hereinafter described with reference to FIG. 4. The adapter 10 also
includes standard pins designated generally by the numeral 14 at the end
opposite to the handle 12 arranged to mate with the pins of a standard
11-pin connector 15 in a C-set or a D-set configuration as shown in the
electrical schematic in FIG. 5.
The adapter 10 also includes a label 16 which points to two different jacks
17, 18 on diametrically opposite sides of the adapter housing and
appropriately connected electrically with the pins 14 so that the RJ-11
(designated by numeral 19 in FIG. 4) plug on a repair technician's data
terminal (not shown) can be plugged into the appropriate jack on the
adapter 10 for a C-set or a D-set. The two parts 11, 11' of the adapter
housing can be held together by screws, pop rivets or the like after the
jacks 17, 18 appropriately connected with the pins 14 are inserted between
the housing parts 11, 11'.
The adapter housing is configured, as shown in the end view of FIG. 3, so
as to have a relatively large radius R, on diametrically opposed sides of
the housing. This configuration permits the adapter 10 to clear unique and
separate obstacles in C- and D-type telephones.
When the repair technician desires to communicate with the central office,
he or she plugs the adapter 10 into the 11-pin connector 15 in the pay
station lower housing 20 of a pay telephone as shown in FIG. 4. Depending
upon whether the station is a C-set or a D-set configuration, the
technician will plug the RJ-11 plug from the data terminal into one of the
two jacks 17, 18 in the adapter 10 in order to provide the proper circuit
connection.
Instead of two jacks 17, 18 in the adapter housing, the present invention
contemplates, as shown in FIG. 6, the use of only one jack 17' connected
to the standard pins 14' through a switch 21 which, in the illustrated
version, is moved up for a D-set configuration and down for a C-set
configuration.
Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7 in the form
of a two-part adapter designated generally by the numeral 30 and having a
much shorter 11-pin connector 31 with handle 32 connected to a separate
housing 33 by an electrical cable 34. The housing 33 can be provided with
two separate jacks 17, 18 (FIG. 5) for providing the C- and
D-configurations or with a single jack 17' and switch 21 as shown in FIG.
6.
Although the invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is
to be clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and
example, and is not to be taken by way of limitation. The spirit and scope
of the present invention are to be limited only by the terms of the
appended claims.
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